Disclaimer – Kishimoto owns Naruto and the characters therein.
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Memories Of Others
Chapter 19
Education Of A Genin
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"You summoned me, Hokage-sama?" Naruto said as he entered the office and Hiruzen nodded.
"I did. I hear that you've finally learned to open the first two Gates."
Naruto nodded, looking proud. "I have, although according to Gai-Sensei, the first three Gates are easier if you have naturally large Chakra reserves, while the rest are far more difficult. It still took me over a month to learn, though. My… usual learning technique doesn't really go well with using the Gates."
"I wouldn't know." The white-haired man in the corner of the office noted. "I was skilled enough not to need it, then I learned something better."
Naruto turned to face the second man, noting the red lines reaching down from his eyes and his unusual mode of dress.
"Jiraiya of the Sannin, I presume?"
"Damn, Sensei, he's fast." Jiraiya laughed, then he started a kabuki-style dance. "Yep, I'm the man that all women want to love and all men would love to be! I'm the master of Senjutsu and the summoner of Toads! I… am Jiraiya!"
"Jiji… this man's crazier than Anko!"
"No, he… wait. When did you meet Anko?" Hiruzen asked, distracted by the comment.
"Ran into her on one of my missions… literally." Naruto sighed. "I thought I was addicted to Ramen, but my love of it's nothing compared to that crazy woman's worship of Dango and when the impact caused two sticks of it to hit the ground…"
Naruto gave a shudder, then grinned. "On the other hand, that was the best escape and evasion lesson I've ever had. I actually had to use my… special escape technique."
"You mean Hiraishin." Jiraiya noted. "What? I taught the Yondaime, I knew his techniques."
"You taught dad?" Naruto asked and Jiraiya's jaw dropped.
"Dammit, Sensei! I thought the plan was to wait until he was sixteen or chunin before telling him? You know, security and all that?"
"He worked it out himself." Hiruzen sighed. "Now, Naruto, according to the original plan I'd temporarily re-assign you to learn from Jiraiya, but as an independent genin, the rules are slightly different. Since you need to earn your way, things get more complicated."
Naruto nodded, his expression showing his interest.
"As such, I'm assigning you to learn from Jiraiya in the afternoons. This gives you the mornings to do missions and I'll also arrange for you to receive low D-rank pay to offset any costs caused by Jiraiya's lessons as you learn your father's other technique."
"The Rasengan." Naruto breathed and Jiraiya smirked as he held up a hand in which a sparkling sphere of chakra spun.
"Yep. Your father's legacy."
Naruto frowned. "I'm going to need help for this… can I decide who else can learn this, since it was my dad who created it?"
"I guess so…" Jiraiya said slowly. "Who did you have in mind, and why?"
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"Hello, Kurenai-san!" Naruto called and the tall dark-haired woman turned to see her favorite non-team genin approaching with a figure behind him that she recognised only too well and, if his paling face was any indication, remembered her.
"I hope I'm not interrupting, but I thought you'd be almost finished by now." Naruto smiled and Kurenai nodded.
"My team are just doing their cooldowns now." She said, then she paused as Kiba dashed past her.
"Naruto! I did it!" He shouted. "I got myself a den for me and Akamaru! Sure, it's only a single room apartment with a loo and shower in the corner and a small kitchen counter, but it's mine and it's all thanks to you helping catch those people and bring them back! I got over fifty thousand Ryo and even with the clan's cut, that was still enough for me to get my den outright!"
"Now you need to spend extra time keeping it all clean, though." Naruto pointed out and Kiba sagged.
"Yeah, I hadn't actually realized how much effort that is. But still, my own den! Whoo!"
Kiba bounced off and Kurenai shook her head in fond exasperation.
"Just when I think I'm getting him calmed down." She sighed, then she turned her attention to Naruto's companion. "Jiraiya."
"Kurenai-san." Jiraiya said formally, earning a confused stare from Naruto. "What?"
"What did she do to you to make you treat her like that?" Naruto asked and Jiraiya flinched.
"Don't ask."
Kurenai smirked at the Toad Sage's discomfort before turning her attention back to Naruto.
"So, how may I help you?"
"Well, Jiraiya's going to be trying to teach me a trick he learned from the Yondaime, but it's one that I need an extra set of eyes for. And since I plan on letting Hinata-chan learn any of my techniques that she wants, I thought I'd start now and ask for her help on this."
"What technique is it?" Kurenai asked curiously and Jiraiya held up an orb of spinning chakra. "The Rasengan!"
Jiraiya nodded as Hinata approached, her dojutsu active.
"It's… beautiful…" She whispered. "Naruto-kun, I'll help you however I can."
Jiraiya grinned lopsidedly and sighed as he allowed the orb to dissipate.
"Jiraiya…" Kurenai said warningly and the older man flinched away.
"I didn't even say anything! Kid, meet you at your dad's place!" He yelped as he ran away.
"What did you do to him?" Naruto asked again.
"Let's just say that it involved a little genjutsu of mine." Kurenai smirked. "If you want details…?"
"If you don't mind, Kurenai-Sensei." Hinata demurred.
"Gai and Kakashi, in swimming trunks, doing a Sunset of Youth."
Both teens flinched at the mental image and Kurenai laughed.
"Hinata, you're excused. Go help Naruto learn an awesome jutsu."
"Thanks, Kurenai-san." / "Thank you, Kurenai-Sensei."
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Jiraiya looked up from where he was scribbling notes while sprawled across one of the sofas as a flash of light illuminated the house, fading out to reveal Hinata surrounded by a trio of Narutos.
"Nice, kid." Jiraiya said as he stuffed the notebook back into a pocket and straightened up from his sprawl. Naruto looked at him with a frown even as the other two clones moved to the kitchen area.
"I'm quite certain that I locked the door…"
Jiraiya held up a key. "Given to me by the Yondaime. Since this was one of his houses…"
"Yeah, I can see why dad would give you his key." Naruto nodded and Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at Hinata.
"Not surprised by that revelation?"
Hinata blinked, then her eyes opened wide as she gaped comically at Naruto. "Whoah! You called the Yondaime, dad?! You're his son?! You're having the Great Pervert teach you?!"
"That's Super Pervert!" Jiraiya corrected petulantly and both Hinata and Naruto started laughing at her over-acting. "I guess you already know."
"Since the day we got engaged." Naruto confirmed as a clone walked over with three cups of tea on a tray. The clone waited until Hinata was seated, then offered the tray first to her, then to Jiraiya before Naruto accepted the third cup.
"Nice tea." Jiraiya noted after taking a sip, then he leaned forwards. "So, engaged to a Hyuuga, huh? I've heard about the Secret Hyuuga Bloodline and you are a very lucky young man."
Both Naruto and Hinata glared at him, refusing to take the verbal bait.
"Fine, to business then. Unlike most Jutsu, the Rasengan is pure chakra manipulation." Jiraiya said before he took another sip. "Wow, this is good tea. Anyway… pure chakra manipulation. It requires a large amount of control to achieve and it looks like this."
The now-familiar spinning sphere formed in Jiraiya's free hand.
"According to your father, it should be possible to combine a Rasengan with elemental chakra to create an even more destructive attack." Jiraiya continued. "Your father was working on it, but keeping a Rasengan stable while adding an elemental edge to it… is not a trivial exercise. He ended up in hospital several times after it exploded on him."
"Mental note." Naruto half-whispered. "All Rasengan experiments are to be carried out by Kage Bunshin."
"I wouldn't be happy if you did something that put you in hospital." Hinata confirmed as Jiraiya drained the rest of his tea.
"So, finish up and meet me outside for your training." He said as he rose from the sofa and walked to the door, detouring to hand his cup to the clone in the kitchen area.
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"Over here!" Jiraiya called as the duo emerged. "So, you ready? I'm sure the Hyuuga girl…"
"Her name's Hinata." Naruto interjected and Jiraiya nodded with a smile.
"Okay. I'm sure Hinata-san will have an advantage, given that she can see chakra flows."
Naruto and Hinata exchanged glances, then he enfolded her in a hug.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
The resulting cloud of smoke cleared to reveal five Narutos and five Hinatas.
"Heh, nice trick." Jiraiya said as he held up one hand and all five Hinatas activated their byakugans. "Now, this is how it looks."
A sphere briefly formed on his hand, then he held up a water balloon in his other hand. "And this is the exercise for the first stage."
The balloon rippled, bulged and then popped.
"I've put a load of water balloons in that box there." Jiraiya said, pointing to a small wooden crate by the front door. "Come and get me once you've got it down."
Jiraiya ran off and Naruto sat down, letting Hinata lean against him.
"Alright!" He called. "All Hinata clones and two of mine dispel one at a time, let's see exactly what he did."
Hinata gave him a look before her clones dispelled and both of them absorbed the memories of how the chakra flowed into and through the water balloon.
"Naruto-kun," She asked as her mind settled from the informational influx. "Why did you only dispel half your clones?"
Naruto smiled. "I'll show you soon. For now, will you help me make some more clones for practice?"
Hinata nodded and when she felt Naruto's chakra flow though her, she pushed some of her own into it so that the memories from his clones would also return to her.
"Okay." Naruto smiled as he released her from the hug. "Original two, with me! Everyone else, we've seen how it's done, let's practice! Hinata, I'm sorry for not thinking of doing this for you earlier."
As Hinata blinked in confusion, Naruto formed up with the two original clones and they vanished in a flash of light.
"Naruto-kun?"
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"Ooooohhh… hehehehehe…" Jiraiya giggled as he scribbled in his notebook between peeping at the forms visible in the light haze of steam above the women's onsen. "Oooooh, yes! This is…"
His mutterings halted as he sensed two people just behind him, then with a double popping noise, two waves of water showered down on him, drenching his notebook.
"My research!" He whimpered, then he turned to see Naruto and Hinata smirking at him, scraps of rubber held in their right hands. "Already? It's only been a couple of hours!"
Hinata activated her byakugan briefly and Jiraiya looked at Naruto.
"That explains the princess, but how did you get it so fast?"
"Kage Bunshin memory sharing with Hinata-Hime." Naruto grinned. "When we make Kage Bunshin together, Hinata puts some of her chakra into mine and when the clones dispel, she gets the memories as well… why are you sniggering?"
"I bet that Kage Bunshin aren't the only thing you'd like to make with Hinata." Jiraiya snorted.
"We cook as well." Naruto said even as Hinata blushed furiously. "I've been taking lessons from Teuchi-san in how to cook and I'm getting pretty good at it."
Jiraiya stared at him in shock, then he shook his head in disbelief.
"You have no idea what I'm trying to imply, have you?"
"Is this a pervert thing?" Naruto asked suspiciously and Jiraiya sighed.
"Look, your next lesson will be tomorrow at the same time. Now… scram and recover."
Naruto nodded and a single clone formed beside him. The three of them stood in a triangle, their hands touching, then they vanished in a flash of light.
"He taught her the Hiraishin?" Jiraiya gasped. "And that quickly?"
"What was that light?"
Jiraiya spun back to face the fence of the onsen as a dozen kunoichi leapt on the top of the wall, one of them scarily familiar.
"Jiraiya!" Kurenai shouted, her fingers already going through a sequence of hand-seals that Jiraiya recognised.
"Oh hell!" He yelped, "Not the Yaoi Genjutsu! Time to ruuu-uuuuuuuuuun!"
Jiraiya sped off as fast as he could, hoping to escape the wrath of the Genjutsu Mistress through sheer speed that almost matched that which his student was famed for.
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Authors Afternote - A standard Inuzuka Den Block can be found on my DeviantArt page, if you want to know what Kiba's den is like.